Freemasonry

May 14, 2019

Long-time readers of our blog will know that every May we return to the topic of our very first blog post: Masonic impostors. This year we focus on a man named Duncan C. Turner (born ca. 1847), who was featured in the 1903 booklet, Album of Masonic Impostors. He was previously published in the Masonic Relief Association's Official Warning Circular No. 147. The Album of Masonic Impostors' description of Turner is brief and to the point:

An article published in the Buffalo Courier newspaper on November 14, 1897 makes it clear that the circulars published by the Masonic Relief Association worked. The newspaper recounts how Turner's profile was published in recent issues of the monthly Official Warning Circular - first showing up in the July 1897 issue. The article continues, noting that a "more recent letter announced that he [i.e. Turner] had been arrested in Cleveland and sentenced to the workhouse for sixty days, for working his swindle in that city. He recently regained his liberty and a still later [note in the Association's] circular stated that he was on his way East, all Relief Boards being instructed to keep a sharp lookout for him."

The article also reports how it was that Turner was apprehended in Buffalo by a Mason who had, indeed, kept a sharp lookout for him. After having met a local Mason, Henry Cutting, in town, Turner claimed that he had just arrived in Buffalo and had "fallen into a little ill luck." Cutting gave him the business address of Charles F. Sturm, who ran a furniture store in Buffalo and was the secretary of Buffalo's Masonic Board of Relief, which coordinated Masonic charity in the city. Turner made his way to Sturm's furniture store and "told Mr. Sturm a pitiful tale, which he concluded with an appeal for enough money to take him to New York." The article continues, noting Sturm's reaction to having a known impostor present himself to him: "On hearing the man's name, Mr. Sturm almost leaped from his seat in surprise." The article notes that Sturm called the police, who arrested Turner, "who was charged with being a tramp."

The Buffalo Courierreported about Turner's appearance in court on November 14. At that hearing, it was revealed that Turner had defrauded Masons in Briar Hill, NJ, Toronto, and Cleveland. The judge noted that Turner had already served sixty days in the Cleveland Workhouse for "obtaining money from Masons in that city by fraudulent pretense. The judge in the Buffalo courtroom sentenced Turner to sixty days in the penitentiary. At the sentencing, the judge declared that Turner "was the greatest liar with whom he had come in contact during his career as a dispenser of justice."

May 08, 2019

Emil Cruz (1904-1983), born in Camilng, Tarlac, Philippines, as Emiliano Cruz Quindiaga, emigrated to the United States in 1924 at the age of 19. He settled in San Francisco in 1925 before moving to the Detroit, Michigan, area sometime in the 1930s. It was in Michigan that Cruz started a family and begin his Masonic career. Cruz was a member of Schiller Lodge No. 263 and Damascus Commandery No. 42, both located in Detroit.

In 1912, twelve years before Cruz set off for the United States, representatives of the three American lodges in the Philippines—Manila 342, Cavite 350 and Corregidor 386—met to organize a Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands. Today there are more than 300 lodges in the Philppine Islands. It is presently unclear if Cruz had any familial relationship with Freemasonry before becoming a Mason in Michigan.

Cruz's daughter recently donated a group of items to the Museum & Library that relate to Cruz's Masonic affiliations. The objects date from the mid 1950s to the late 1970s and include photographs, aprons, ribbons, and certificates. One object in particular, a wooden gavel made in the Philippines, and pictured to the right, illustrated Cruz's pride in both his Filipino heritage and Masonic accomplishments. On the gavel, it reads "Emil Cruz / Schiller Lodge No. 263-F & A.M. 1970 / Made in the Philippines /

Gavel, 1970. Phillipines. Gift of Patricia Fé Andrews, 2016.070.11.

"Philippines Acacia."

Philippine acacia, also known as Formosa acacia, is a perennial tree native to Southeast Asia and is commonly used in boats, furniture, carvings, and jewelry.

Do you have any information or items related to Filipino Americans and Freemasonry? Let us know in the comments section below.

March 14, 2019

On October 14, 1922, a special ceremony took place in Washington, D.C. at the Scottish Rite’s Southern Jurisdiction’s headquarters building, known as the House of the Temple. Although Scottish Rite members attended, the gathering was, in fact, a DeMolay event. A uniformed degree team of twenty-eight boys from Kansas City Chapter—the original DeMolay chapter—had traveled from Missouri in order to institute Robert LeBruce Chapter of DeMolay, Washington D.C.’s second DeMolay chapter. The Kansas City contingent also included a number of adults, among them DeMolay’s founder Frank S. Land (1890-1959). Those present in the room included 107 boys chosen to receive the degrees, as well as the boys’ fathers. Members of the Southern Jurisdiction’s Supreme Council, who were already in town for their own meeting, also attended.

Among those receiving the two DeMolay degrees that evening was nineteen-year-old Robert Emmet Doyle, Jr. (1903-1988). His DeMolay certificate is pictured here. In anticipation of the institution of the chapter, members had unanimously elected Doyle as the first Master Councilor of the Robert LeBruce Chapter. The founding of the Robert LeBruce Chapter in 1921 was part of a larger trend. DeMolay experienced tremendous growth in its first few years. Although originally located only in Missouri, where it began, by 1922, after only three years in existence, DeMolay boasted chapters in nearly every U.S. state.

Doyle followed the tradition of many Masons, by having his certificate autographed by nearly thirty Masons hailing from California, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Texas, Wyoming, and Washington, D.C. Among these signatures, those of two U.S. presidents, Warren G. Harding (1865-1923) and William H. Taft (1857-1930), stand out. Harding autographed and dated the certificate on April 24, 1922, while he was president. Because he was a Scottish Rite Mason, he added a “32°” after his name. Taft did not date his signature, but did include the name of his lodge, Kilwinning Lodge No. 356. All of the dated autographs are from 1922 and 1923, so it seems likely that Taft’s is also from around this time. In the early 1920s, the former president served as Chief Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Based in Washington, D.C., Doyle also collected signatures from various Scottish Rite Masons from the Southern Jurisdiction, including the long-serving Sovereign Grand Commander, John Cowles (1863-1954).

Just a few years after joining DeMolay, Doyle was raised a Master Mason in his father’s lodge, Lafayette Lodge No. 19. Doyle became a Scottish Rite Mason in the Southern Jurisdiction as part of a fifty-five member class upon which the 14th degree was conferred on October 28, 1924, at the Washington D.C.-based Mithras Lodge of Perfection No. 1. By the 1940s, Doyle had moved from Washington D.C. to California, where he lived until his death in 1988. His certificate, now in our collection, helps illustrate the deep connection between DeMolay and Scottish Rite Freemasonry.

January 08, 2019

Since 1925, the Shriners - one of the appendant orders in Freemasonry - have sponsored an annual all-star East-West Shrine football game. Two teams of senior-year football players, one comprised of players from colleges in the Eastern U.S. and the other with players from the West, meet in January to compete. Pictured here is the cover for the 1948 program for the game that was played on New Year's Day at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium (the first home stadium to both the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders).

Cartoonist Wiley Smith (1906-1994) illustrated the 1948 cover in a whimsical style reminiscent of his “Football Follies” comic. The cover depicts two smiling football players representing the West and East teams, as well as a fez-wearing Shriner handing off the football to a young boy wearing a leg brace, who has tossed his crutch aside.

Up until 1986, the East-West Shrine game was played on or around January 1. Because of the schedule of various Bowl games in early January, the date was moved up later, to take place after the bowl games are done. Up until 2005, the game was played in the San Francisco Bay area. In 2006, the game moved to Texas and then again in 2010 to Florida where it is played today. This year's game - the 94th - takes place on Saturday, January 19, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

But what about that 1948 game? The East won, 40-9. You can view the roster here.

This program and one from the 1943 East-West game are on view in the Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives reading room through June 1, 2019.

June 26, 2018

Chewing tobacco—also known as plug tobacco or “chaw”—was the most common way to consume the tobacco plant in the mid-to-late 1800s in the United States. American tobacco companies produced a variety of products for tobacco chew including pouches, pipes, and spittoons. A number of these sold or or offered in the late 1800s and early 1900s used Masonic symbols and imagery on their products or as part of their brand name, including this Master Mason plug tobacco produced by the Rock City Tobacco Company in Canada.

A pouch recently donated to the Museum collection advertises "on the Square" plug tobacco and features a square and compasses at center. The Courier-Journal newspaper published in Louisville, Kentucky, include simple advertisements for "On the Square" tobacco in the early 1900s. We are currently researching what company may have manufactured this particular brand of tobacco. Staff are looking for more information about the company that manufactured "On the Square" tobacco. Have you heard of “On the Square” tobacco? Let us know in the comments section below!

May 08, 2018

Today, we celebrate ten years of blogging! Returning to the subject of our very first blog post—Masonic impostors—we highlight a circular letter issued in February 1872 by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts to all of the lodges under its jurisdiction. The circular letter warns lodges against admitting non-members into the lodge and and that care should be taken to enforce the Grand Lodge’s regulations for verifying whether visiting Masons are genuinely Masons and not impostors. Additionally, the circular warns lodges of three men in particular – John H. Bean, George Downes, and Asa Smith.

Many Masonic impostors, especially during this time period, pretended to be Freemasons in need of relief or charity and defrauded lodges by scamming them out of money. These three individuals, however, were doing something different. They were said to “communicate the Degrees in Freemasonry to any one who will pay him a small sum of money.” The word “communicate” has a special meaning in Freemasonry. To communicate a degree means to simply verbally describe the degree to the candidate as a form of initiation, as opposed to the more familiar form of initiation (known as conferring), in which the candidate participates in a ceremony conducted by lodge members.

The circular was reprinted in the April 1, 1872 issue of The Freemasons’ Monthly Magazine as part of an article entitled “A Caution Against Impostors,” in which the writer notes that John H. Bean began his Masonic impositions in New Hampshire, before coming down to Massachusetts. Two years later, Bean was still being reported in Masonic circles as an impostor. The February 1874 issue of The New England Freemason quoted the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, who colorfully referred to Bean as "a pestilent fellow who ingloriously fled from Massachusetts," and went on to describe Bean as a person “who has figured so extensively in different parts of the United States humbugging the people by palming upon them a spurious Masonry.” The Grand Master also reported that a photograph of John H. Bean had been obtained and distributed in order to help stall his efforts to further defraud Masons.

As for what eventually happened to George Downes, Asa Smith, and John H. Bean, it is unclear. But the story of Masonic impostors trying to defraud Freemasons and of Masonic organizations trying to spread information about known impostors by distributing circulars and photographs is a familiar one. If you'd like to read more on the topic, be sure to check out all of our posts about Masonic impostors from the past ten years.

February 20, 2018

Cigar band plate, 1890-1920. United States. Gift of Milton and Berry Walter, 2005.006.

George Washington died of complications from an infection at the age of 67, at his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, in December of 1799. The American public produced many elaborate and public displays of mourning after Washington’s death. Artists and manufacturers also marketed mourning art and memorabilia in his name. In addition to mass-produced memorial items, unknown individuals often also created memorial folk art to commemorate Washington’s legacy.

Decades later an unknown artist fashioned this glass plate into a Masonic portrait of George Washington using paper cigar bands and cut-outs of Washington. The decoupage plate depicts Washington as a Freemason and celebrates his Masonic connections. Washington wears a Masonic apron and collar. He is surrounded by Masonic symbols, including the all-seeing eye, columns, and an open bible with a square and compasses. Washington’s likeness and the aforementioned symbols appear to have been cut from a Masonic print. Washington’s stance and Masonic regalia suggest the print was modeled after an 1868 Currier & Ives print titled Washington as a Freemason. This popular Masonic lithograph was copied multiple times in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

In the mid-1800s, cigar manufacturers began to hire lithographers to produce decorative and aesthetically pleasing artistic cigar labels and boxes for their products. These labels and boxes featured miniature portraits of historic figures, animals, logos, and landscapes. By the early 1900s, consumers began collecting the cigar labels and sharing information about them in groups like the International Cigar Band Society, founded in 1934. Individuals also started to create folk art using the paper cigar bands. A popular homemade craft in the early 1900s, “cigar band art,” as it was commonly called, included decorated ceramics, glassware, and jewelry.

Do you or someone in your family have Masonic related “cigar band art”? Let us know in the comments section below.

November 07, 2017

In the early 1900s, American tobacco companies produced a variety of free tobacco premiums and souvenirs that were included with their products. One type of premium, the “tobacco silk,” also referred to as a “cigarette silk,” featured images of animals, U.S. presidents, college seals, and fraternal names and symbols. Manufacturers marketed the silks as collectible items that could be used to make quilts and other textiles. The silks, often made of satin, featured both printed and embroidered images.

The pillow cover to the right, in the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library collection, is one example of how consumers may have used these silks. The pillow cover, made by the donor’s grandmother in the early 1900s, includes over fifty-five silks that feature the names of different universities and fraternal groups from across the United States. The fraternal silks include officer titles, jewels, and symbols from familiar groups like the Freemasons, Knights of Columbus, and Elks.

The names of two American tobacco companies active in the early 1900s, Egyptienne Luxury and Turkey Red, are woven at the bottom of the silks. Both companies capitalized on the popularity of Turkish and Egyptian cigarettes in Europe and America from the 1880s through World War I. The tobacco silk premium promotion was relatively short-lived. They were only included in packaging or as something consumers could send away for from about 1900 to 1915. The number and variety of fraternal groups included in silk promotion illustrates the popularity fraternal organizations enjoyed in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Has someone in your family made a textile with tobacco silks? Do you have your own collection of fraternal silks? Let us know in the comments below.

Among these items is this hand-drawn certificate of appreciation issued by the Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, to Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, the Mayor of Boston and an Active Member of the Supreme Council. The certificate, dated June 19, 1869, was given to Shurtleff in recognition of the Supreme Council's "high appreciation of the most cordial and fraternal welcome extended" to the Council during the Annual Meeting held in Boston, June 16-19, 1869. (A high-res image of the certificate may be viewed here.)

The 1869 Annual Meeting was held at the Masonic Temple in Boston. According to the 1869 Supreme Council Proceedings, on the second day of these meetings, Friday, June 18, the Supreme Council voted on "an invitation to accept the hospitalities of the Mayor of the City of Boston, the Hon. and Ill. Bro. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, at Young's Hotel, at 7 1/2 o'clock, this evening." On motion, the Mayor's party invitation was unanimously accepted. Young's Hotel, which had opened in 1860 and would eventually close in 1927, was located in Court Street in Boston.

While the 1869 Proceedings provide no details about the celebration held at Young's Hotel, an article published in the July 1, 1869, issue of The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine gives a brief account of the dinner. It records that the tables for the reception "were furnished with such luxuries as the markets at this season of the year can afford, and were in great abundance." The celebration continued "until late in the evening, when it was increased by the addition of music, by an excellent band from the City of Troy, New York, who had previously been contributing of their skill to the success of the Peace Jubilee."

The National Peace Jubilee, which happened to coincide with the 1869 Annual Meeting, was a five day music festival held in Boston. It began on June 15, 1869, and celebrated the end of the American Civil War four years earlier. Thousands of people attended the Jubilee, and a huge temporary coliseum which could seat 50,000 people was constructed for the musical performances. The event was so attractive that The Freemasons' Monthly Magazinereported that the Jubilee actually delayed the start of the Annual Meeting:

The session [i.e. the Annual Meeting] was informally opened on Wednesday, at 12 o'clock, noon; but, in consequence of the interest which the members manifested in the festivities of the opening of the Peace Musical Jubilee, the Council was called off until the following morning at 10 o'clock, and no business was transacted.

The celebration hosted by Mayor Shurtleff at Young's Hotel made a great impression upon his guests. The following day, at the Supreme Council's Annual Meeting, Henry L. Palmer, a future Sovereign Grand Commander for the Supreme Council, offered a resolution, the text of which was incorporated into the certificate by its artist, Charles E. Sickels (1841-1927).

In 1869 Sickels was a 28-year-old artist and engraver who executed this certificate entirely by hand. He had only been a Mason for two years. His father, Daniel Sickels, 33°, Grand Secretary General for the Supreme Council, signed and sealed the certificate in the lower left-hand corner. Charles Sickels would later go on to become the head of the Art Department of the American Bank Note Company, which printed currency and stamps for the federal government, as well as stock certificates. By 1875, the American Bank Note Company printed membership certificates, such as this one, for the Scottish Rite.

July 11, 2017

The Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives Digital Collections website contains a rich collection of digitized documents from the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. Among these items is an engraved lodge summons (pictured at left), printed in 1760. Henry Dawkins (c. 1735-c.1790) engraved this summons, which was sent to members of Philadelphia's Lodge No. 2, Ancient York Masons. This summons, or invitation, was circulated on May 13, 1760, to inform members of the lodge that a meeting was to take place at the house of Brother James Bell. Richard McNeall, who had been appointed Secretary of the lodge at its March 11, 1760 meeting, signed the summons in the lower left hand corner.